FYF—Done and Dusted, All Other Festivals Are Busted

This past Saturday and Sunday, September 1st and 2nd, roughly 52,000 independent music fans braved the sweltering heat to attend the ninth annual FYF Fest at the LA State Historic Park near Downtown Los Angeles. Featuring more than 90 performing artists and a plethora of other entertainments (including four music stages, one enormous dance/comedy tent, boatloads of beer gardens, a cavalcade of food trucks, massive shade tents, comfy VIP lounges, and the dazzlingly spastic visuals of Videothing’s Michael Reich), the promoters aimed quite literally to provide “The Best Two Days of Summer,” and then some.

As a sixth-year returning sponsor of the festival, Incase gifted custom ‘F#@K YEAH FEST!” totes, custom “FYF” Snap Cases for iPhone 4s, Incase-branded earplugs, and Boxed Water to the first 500 lucky attendees through the gates each day. It could safely be said all 1,000 totes were snatched up in under ten minutes, thank you very much. Huge thanks to Sean Carlson, Phil Hoelting, Michael Gutierrez, Mariko Jones, Goldenvoice, The City of Los Angeles and the entire California State Parks Department. We’ll see you again next year.

How to Get a Limited Edition FYF iPhone Snap Case

Today we’re excited to announce our sponsorship of FYF Fest for the 6th year in a row. That’s right— six years of bewildering musical mayhem as brought to you by Sean Carlson and Phil Hoelting of FYF Fest Productions, (aka self-proclaimed ‘Geniuses at Work’).

Saturday & Sunday, September 1st and 2nd, the festival will again take place at the LA State Historic Park. Nestled between Chinatown and Downtown Los Angeles, this two-day festival event spans four massive stages and will feature performances by more than 90 musical guests, stand-up comedians, and potentially a live goat or two, (not kidding). As well, you’ll experience a heap of local food trucks and retail vendors from across Southern California’s expansive independent community.

Come join Incase and an expected 26,000 music lovers as we all laze the day away and celebrate the arts. By the way, we’ll be giving away custom-made FYF tote bags and limited edition FYF Snap Cases for iPhone 4S to 500 patrons per day. We look forward to having you with us.

The End Is Only The Beginning

THIS los angeles is doing a one night only mini-art show this Friday night, May 20th. It is called ‘Judgement Night’ and will feature handmade weapons from folks like Keith Morris (OFF!, Circle Jerks, Black Flag), Sage Vaughn (Terri & Gary), and Ben Venom. Despite its diminutive duration, this short show is sure to shank your brain. Here’s THIS los angeles co-owner/curator Justin Van Hoy with a few words about the exhibition:

“You’ve seen the billboards, you’ve seen it all over the Internet. This weekend marks the beginning of the end for mankind. Family Radio Worldwide has declared “it can be proven Biblically that the world will end May 21st, 2011″. Well, we are having a show to help you prepare yourself.” —THIS los angeles

Terry & Gary Will Blow Your Mind

On Friday, April 22nd, THIS Los Angeles embarks on the opening reception for Terry & Gary Burbank: A Depiction of Love and Reality. For those of you not familiar with the vaunted works of T&G, the art world’s (self-described) foremost power duo, we can only say this: Arrive ready to enter a world of deep weirdness.

For the occasion Incase x THIS x Terry & Gary have created 100 limited-edition cotton canvas tote bags to commemorate the night. Come early to grab a tote, stay late to have your mind wrecked. This one’s guaranteed to be entertaining, thought provoking and decidedly funny. The reception is free and features an open bar, 7-10PM. For additional details please read THIS gallery’s press release below and visit the Facebook invite. Trust us, it’s well worth the read.

Terri & Gary Burbank
A Depiction Of Love And Reality

What’s the future about? Acclaimed experts Terri and Gary know!

As you know, Terri & Gary have been doing a lot lately. You may have heard of their latest fantastic game-changing business consultation advice tapes, or maybe you caught wind of their incredible spiritual celebrity consultations on the news. Either way, you’re probably asking yourself: How can I get some of that? Easy….Go to their ground-breaking art exhibition at THIS Los Angeles.

The focus of their inaugural art opening, A DEPICTION OF LOVE AND REALITY, is two fold: Help (mainly concerned with the self) and Love (primarily found through the phone). There is also a touch of the more familiar work of this non-stop power-duo, the ever-present postcard subscriptions and their patented weapons of “passive-aggression”. Manipulating second hand objects of self-improvement and self-gratification, T&G present an innovative way of reinterpreting these narcissistic industries. Working together to create thought provoking installations from the debris of human excess and insecurity, T&G hope to bring you a new and vital experience with your own reality.

Terri & Gary: Helping you re-think the way you thought you think!

The Return of These Friends 2

Today we have a very special announcement to make: It is time again for the annual ‘THESE FRIENDS’ group show at THIS Los Angeles. Last year’s opening drew over 600 people for a celebratory night of good friends, fine art, and hectic street meat. To put it bluntly— it was fun. Really fun. For Friday night’s event we’ve again created 100 limited-edition tote bags, this time featuring the work of artist Ashely Macomber. Arrive early to snag a free one, stay late to have a lovely time. For a bit of additional info here’s THIS Los Angeles co-creator and esteemed photographer Dan Monick with a few choice words:

THIS is glad to announce part 2 of the show we kicked it all off with a year ago, These Friends 2. When the 5 of us first conceived this place we all made a list of friends we would like to show a piece and the list quickly grew to over 100 people. It turned out to be a huge success, more people showed up than we knew what to do with, and good times were had. So, let’s do it again. This Friday, February 4th, 7-10 p.m. at THIS Los Angeles, 5906 N. Figueroa St., Los Angeles, CA 90042. The reception is free and features a DJ and an open bar.

We genuinely look forward to seeing you there.

THIS Visits: Eddy Sykes

Eddy Sykes is a man of many fascinations. THIS met up with Eddy at his studio in the Frog Town section of LA, where he melds architecture, sculpture, assembly, industrial design and whimsy to craft complex kinetic chandeliers that are as beautiful as they are inspiring. Some of his past projects include house plants and ashtrays carved out of bowling balls, sculptures built entirely from ostrich eggshells, a kinetic bacon and eggs… you get the drift.

THIS Holiday faux-Needlepoint Tote Bag is Rad

On Friday, December 10th, the ‘THIS Holiday’ show kicked off at THIS Los Angeles in Highland Park, CA. For this opening we again created 100 limited-edition tote bags, this time featuring a brilliant piece of work by artist Kimberly Scola. As always, the bags were beautiful, the art was plentiful, and the vibe was nice. Check the photos.

By the way, we’re giving away six of these totes to the first six people to leave a comment on this post. Once these are gone, they’re gone forever. Enjoy. We hope to see you at the next THIS LA event in January 2011!

UPDATE: All Tote Bags have been claimed!

THIS Visits: Clyde Kusatsu

Credited in over 220 film titles, Clyde Kusatsu is one of the hardest working actors in Hollywood. After collaborating with nearly every major Hollywood A-lister, he still remains humbled and charming. THIS Visits sat with Kusatsu in his Los Angeles home to talk about the craft of acting, modern American history, the biz and his meeting with a sitting President. The man is a workhorse and true gentleman.

Enjoy a glimpse into the life of Clyde Kusatsu, one of the most recognizable faces in television and film.

Scavenging for Toothpaste, Diapers and Bad Tattoos

On Saturday, December 4th, 1,250 costumed do-gooders descended on Dodger Stadium to take part in the annual city-wide LA Scavenger Hunt. Upon registration each of the 300 teams was given a list of 100 scavenger items and tasks to perform, forty of which raised material goods for the LA Food Bank and Union Rescue Mission, and another 60 of which were purely ridiculous.

In addition to getting the word out on this grass roots charity donation drive, Incase again helped underwrite the scavenger hunt’s production costs and supplied tote bags to the participants and 25 backpacks to the winning teams. In all, the scavenger hunt raised more than $100,000.00 in much-needed material goods in time for the holidays.

To Sean Carlson and Phil Hoelting at FYF Productions, and to all of the scavenger hunt participants—we thank you for time, energy, and enthusiasm on this one. The scavenger hunt is an enormously fun and productive community event. We feel honored to have had a hand in it. We’ll see you again next year.

THIS HOLIDAY—Two Day Extravaganza

Hello friends. In a few days we’ll unleash yet another opening night tote bag project between Incase and Highland Park’s THIS Los Angeles. Only 100 of these hand-printed, limited edition, 100% cotton canvas tote bags will exist in the world. Perfectly sized to help with all of your holiday schlepping needs. Here’s Justin Van Hoy from THIS Los Angeles with more details:

Please join us December 10th and 11th. at 5906 N. Figueroa St., Los Angeles.

THIS is glad to announce our final show of our first year, “This Holiday”. A cash (or credit) and carry show of affordable hand made goods by a group of amazing artists. You see something you like, you take it right off the wall. In addition to the incredible show, come celebrate THIS being around for a year (we signed the lease a year ago today) and let’s talk about the big things we have in store for 2011.

Two nights of fine art, great friends, and exciting times. Bring sensible shoes and a warm jacket, this one’s gonna be a long and lovely hang. We look forward to seeing you there.